Coming off of the collapse part two, the Pirates front office made some changes. Before we go to far, no they aren’t Frank Coonelly, Neal Huntington or Clint Hurdle, but they did make some changes at hitting coach, first base coach and Major League coach.
The Pirates have brought on former player Jay Bell to take over as hitting coach as Gregg Ritchie left to take a coaching position at his alma mater. Bell, who played eight of his 18 seasons with the Pirates, has a career batting average of .265. The two-time All Star, Silver Slugger and Gold Glove winner served as the Arizona Diamondbacks bench coach in 2005 and 2006.
For first base coach, the Pirates brought in Rick Sofield. Sofield managed the Pirates Class-A affiliate West Virginia Power this past season. Sofield will bring his 25-years of experience and replace Luis Silverio. Silverio will remain with the organization as the senior advisor for Latin American Operations.
Dave Jauss was a special assistant to general manager Huntington last year and well be a new Major League Coach for the organization. Jauss has had past stints with the Mets, Dodgers, Orioles, Red Sox and Expos organizations.
Photo Credits: MLB.com
